Why Cody Rhodes Declaring Himself for the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble Is a Big Deal

The WWE has a big storyline brewing yet again, nearly a year in the making, all thanks to Cody Rhodes. After Wrestlemania 39, many have wondered when we’d see a return for Rhodes to the main event, but the lead up to Wrestlemania seems to be brewing after Survivor Series and it is looking incredible.

At the first Monday Night Raw after WarGames, Rhodes took the stage to make an announcement. “News being made, all these stories? Well, I’d like to make some news myself and I’d like to do it right here,” Rhodes said. “I think at this point, you guys truly know me which means there’s only one destination for me. And that’s why granted the authority here by Adam Pearce, I will be the very first to declare myself for the 2024 Royal Rumble.”

You might be thinking to yourself, “Why is this important?” Let me explain to you my latest obsession with all things Cody Rhodes and why I am fully on board with everything this man wants to do because not only does he deserve the title of WWE Universal Champion, but he is just genuinely a fascinating wrestler that I cannot seem to get enough of recently.

Where and when will the 2024 Royal Rumble take place?

First, let me give you a brief explanation on what the Royal Rumble is: a Battle Royal-style match when a certain number of wrestlers (it is typically 30) enter the ring one at a time, and the idea of the match is to get your opponent out of ring by tossing them over the top rope. In 2023, Rhodes won the Royal Rumble, and it earned him a world championship match at Wrestlemania.

So Cody Rhodes declaring that he is joining the Royal Rumble, set to take place in 2024 in St. Petersburg, Florida, in January, is setting in motion a very exciting storyline in the WWE, but one that means a lot to Rhodes’ family as a whole.

Why is this exciting for Rhodes?

Cody Rhodes comes from wrestling royalty. His father was Dusty Rhodes, also known as the American Dream. When he first joined the WWE, Cody Rhodes went through many phases as a wrestler, and Vince McMahon and the other executives tried to keep him away from his father’s legacy. Eventually, Cody Rhodes quit the WWE, went to AEW, built himself up, and would come back as the American Nightmare, becoming one of the biggest wrestlers in the WWE today. That led to Cody Rhodes taking the Royal Rumble win in 2023.

That win meant he had a championship match at Wrestlemania 39, in April of this year. Infamously, that match went to Roman Reigns. Reigns has held the title for over three years. He is the longest to have held the title, and while that’s fine, the match itself should have gone to Rhodes. Instead, it was a cheap shot that gave it to Reigns, and the Rhodes legacy yet again didn’t have a title.

This comes from Rhodes building his entire image on wanting to get a title for his father. Dusty Rhodes never had a title or a chance at one when he was wrestling. Cody Rhodes made it his goal as a wrestler to get one and honor Dusty Rhodes with it. The American Dream unfortunately passed away in 2015, prior to Cody Rhodes becoming the American Nightmare as we know him today.

Personally, I hope that Rhodes takes the Royal Rumble and we see a rematch at Wrestlemania 40, but this announcement is the first step in Rhodes making his own destiny.

(featured image: USA Network)